Machine for forming heel flaps



March 20, 1945. SABQ 2,372,122

MACHINE FOR FORMING HEEL FIBAPS Filed Feb. 25, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1mvsmom Y Lguzs Sao ATTORNEY 2 March 20, 1945. SABQ 2,372,122

MACHINE FOR FORMING HEEL FLAPS v Filed Feb. 25, 1942 s Sheets-Sheet 2 2INVENTOR; Louis ,Sao

ATTORN EY March 20, 1945. L. SABO MACHINE FOR FORMING HEEL FLAPS FiledFeb. 25, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR: Law is Sao ATTORNEY PatentedMar. 20, 1945 Louissabo, Astoria, N; Y., assignor to Herman B. Delman,New York, N. Y

Application February 25, 1942; SerialNoi 432,313.

8 Claims;

This invention relates to the art of: shoemaking. The: objectv of myinvention is to provide a machine for use in forming the breast flapsfor heels A. further object is: to provide means for supporting a shoein proper position in themachinerelative to the forming means, to formthe flap so that it will accurately fit the" breast of the heel ofeither'a right or a. left side shoe; thev operation. being performedafter the heel has been temporarily or permanently secured to the heelseat of the shoe.

A further object is to provide a machine that islight inweight, Willoperate practically withoutnoise, and will operate in successive steps,each step being: undercontrol of the operator.

A further object is to provide a register for counting the steps of themachine; each step corresponding tothe act: of. forming a nap in themachine;

Certain details of construction used in con-' nectionwiththe=present'machine, and not specifica'll'y described herein, areset forth in my co-- pending. applications, as follows: Serial No. 358,-

442; fil'ed- September 26-, 1940; Serial N0. 419,522, filed November18;. T941; and Serial No. 420,837; filed November 28, 1941.

Referring to' the drawings which form apart of" the specification;

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a machine:

designed v tor the purpose above set forth, and

also shows the means, comprising an. electric motor; for driving themachine, and means for connecting: and disconnecting the driving meansrelative to: the main shaft of the machine;

.Fig. Zisa side viewof the cam used in driving the forming means, such:as a die;

Fig- 3 is a, side elevational' View showing a shoeresting in supportedand adjusted. position, ready for the forming operation;

. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the carriage and adjustable partscarried thereby for adjusting the position: of the shoe relative tothedie;

Fig. 5 is'a. perspective view of the carriage and the platen, with theirsupporting parts;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion: of the supportingmeans for'the shoe,

on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 7 is a horizontal fragmentary sectional View taken approximately onthe line- 'l-,--1 of l0 indicates a; base serves tobrace the frame, andmotor resting on the shelf; It'- indicates a reduction speed gearenclosed in a housing, and serv frame, H a shelfwhich I-Z anelectric ingto reducethespeed from a small. high-speed motor, required' to rotatethe main shaft 14 at the top of themachine. H i

A. lower. shaft" Ht isdriven by the reduction gear, andcarriesa rotaryclutch. member lislidable on the outer end thereof, which is driven bya: feather l6 fixed in the shaft. The member I5; is provided with anannular groove. H. A

lever l8, pivoted at l9 and bifurcated at. 20, rests. in. said grooveand. actuates the clutch member when the pedal: 21 is depressed againstthe pressure'of the spring 22 resting thereunder.

A- stanchion 23! carries ashort shaft/24; on which is mounted a loosepulley 25 carrying apin :26, thus forming a crankwhich is rotated: whenthe pin 2 is: moved: for abutment therewith, as

Willi be readily understood.

The pulleys 25 and 28% areof the same diameter, and connected by a belt28:. Each: revolution of the'pulleys rotates the main shaft M' onerevoluti'on; and during. one-half of each revolution the cam 29, fixedon. themain shaft I4, forces the die; 30 downward; its full distancev oftravel and: formsv the flap; and immediately thereafter the operatorremoves his foot from the pedal 2|, causing the disengagement of theelements 26 and 21, after which the stored energy in. the pulley wheels,together with the reaction ofthe springs 23, which are compressed duringthe downward. movement of the die, acting on the cam, cause the shaft Mto complete its revolution and remain at. rest until the pedal is againdepressed by the" operator.

Mounted on the frame I0 is a base-plate 3|, onawhichis fixeda pair ofside frames, designated. 32, 32, respectively, the? upper ends of whichare provided with" bearings in which the main shaft I41 rests, and anumbering machine 33 is directly connected on an end of said shaft toregister ,each revolution. thereof.

Fixed onthe base plate 3| are two pillars 34-,

34, respectively; which support the springs. 29,. 29 res-pectively,which in turn support: a brldge- 35:, which is g'uid'ed by the pillarsand carries the die 30 on its under side and a thrust block- 36- on itsupper side for co -operation. with the cam 29; which. rests in contacttherewith.

A housing formed with two sidewalls 31,. 3 respectively, supports aplaten 38 which is adapted to support the heel-flap: of the shoe: duringthe forming operation. This housing is slidably mounted: upon=thebase-plate 3| (see Fig'-. 5), by means of guides fixed to thebase-plate, under the raised portions of which extend: lateral flanges"6| at the: lower edges of the walls 31.

Stops 62 at the rear of the guides 50, and fingers 63 on the side walls37 which abut against adjustable screws mounted on the guides 65 asshown, limit the movement of the housing in each direction.

A guideway for the carriage 40 is formed at the lower sides of the walls31 by the use of inwardly extending guide elements 39, 39, respectively,the carriage 4U resting directly .on the top of the base-plate 3i and insliding contact with the guide elements 39.

The carriage 4!] is of greater length than the walls 37, and its frontand rear ends are laterally extended to form shoulders, designated 65,65, and 66, 56, respectively, thus providing for a predetermined slidingmovement of the carriage relative to the housing as wel1 as to thebase-plate 3i, and also for movement of the housing by the carriage, byabutment of either pair of shoulders 65 or 65, as the case may be.

The carriage is provided with a handle 4| at its outer end, and withslots 42 and 43. The slot 42 extends transversely, and a threaded rod 44extends therethru and is held in rigid relation therewith by nuts 45 and46, by means of which the rod may be raised and lowered in adjusting theheight of a member 41, which member is also adjustable on said rod andis held in position by a set-screw 4B.

The member 41 i provided with a ball-shaped upper end 49, which rests ina socket 50 formed in the lower end of threaded rod 5|, a set-screw 52holding these parts in relatively adjusted position.

The upper end of therod 5| is formed to provide a pintle of usualconstruction, and a ring 53 adjustable on the thread thereof is used toform a base for the last 54 which rests thereon.

In the slot 43 is slidable a block 43', in which is non-rotatably fixeda rod 44', the lower portion of which is threaded to engage with lowerand upper nuts 45 and 46 respectively. The nut 46 rides on the topsurface of the carriage, and the nut 45 is adjusted to fit looselyagainst the under surface, to secure the lower end of the rod but at thesame time permit the block to slide freely in the slot.

A spring 55 connects the block with the carriage, and serves to push theblock and thereby the rod toward the outer or forward end of thecarriage.

At the top of the rod 44' is a cross-rod l5, vertically and rotatablyadjustable thereon and provided with a set-screw 15 (Fig. 6) by which itis held in adjusted position. A support for the toe of a shoe is carriedon a sleeve Tl, which is slidable and is also swingable on the crossrod, and adjustable in frictional but not rigid engagement in thedesired position by a set-screw '18. The toe-support has a bell-shapedreceptacle portion which is formed to provide yielding sections 5| whichembrace the toe of the shoe 52 without marring it. The short sleeve l1supporting this bell-shaped receptacle, may be placed upon eitherlateral arm of the cross-bar 15.

A resilient wire loop element '10 is pivotally mounted at a frontportion of the platen, a finger ll bearing against the front of thehousing and normally causing the loop to lie flat upon the top of theplaten 38. This loop is of a size and contour to lie within, and thusavoid, the line upon which the die 35 will cut. The heel-breast flap isslipped under the loop, and held in place thereby, as below mentioned.

The die 35 is shown provided with a resilient pad of sponge rubber 36'filling the cavity thereof and extending to the cutting edges, whichserves to flatten and smooth the flap prior to and during the formingoperation, and to prevent rising of the flap on the upward returnmovement of the die. The die may be mounted on the bridge 35 in anydesired manner. Due to the resiliency of the pad 30', the wire loop 10does not interfere with its downward movement,

In placing the last, with the shoe thereon, in position for the formingoperation, the carriage is first drawn forward to approximately its fullextent. The rear shoulders 65 of the carriage engage the inner ends.ofthe flanges 6| of the Walls 31 and draw the housing forward into theposition shown in Fig. 5. The housing is then forward of the die, andthe shoe-supporting means on the carriage are in turn forward of thehousing. The toe of the shoe is then placed in the bell-shapedreceptacle 5| and pushed inwardly to compress the spring 55, and then ina swinging movement the last is placed on the pintle 5|.

When placing the first of a series of shoes of one size and pattern, andeither right or left, the pintle and its supporting partsare adjusted tocorrect position, laterally and angularly, and the screws and nutstightened to retain such position; the bell-shaped receptacle isadjusted laterally, depending upon whether a right or a left shoe is tobe operated upon, and also'on its shape, and the height of thereceptacle may be adjusted by vertical adjustment of the cross-rod 15 byits set-screw 15; the receptatcle may then move swingingly on itssupport, and the block 43' moves longitudinally in the slot 43, againstthe tension of the spring 55, upon the insertion and removal of eachindividual shoe of the series.

Having placed the shoe on the carriage in position for correctpresentation to the die, the carriage i first pushed rearwardly untilthe front shoulders 55 abut the flanges 6! on the lower edges of thewalls 31 of the housing. The flap portion 53 of the sole is then foldedover to lie upon the upper side of the platen in position for the die toact and form the flap to fit the breast of the heel of the shoe. Thewire loop 10 holds the flap folded, the flap being either slid under,or, if more convenient, the loop being slightly lifted.

The carriage is then pushed in to its full extent, carrying the housingwith it, and the shoe is in position for the flap-forming operation. Thepedal is then depressed and the die lowered to cut the flap, andimmediately thereafter the pedal is raised and the die is lifted to itsnormal position by action of the side springs 29', as before stated. Thesprings serve to prevent the die from being lowered until the pedal isagain depressed, as will be readily understood.

Upon completion of the cutting operation, the carriage 45 is again drawnforward, its first movement being relative to the housing a well as tothe base-plate 3!. The formed flap is removed from under the loop 10,which is raised slightly if desired to prevent strain on the flap. Asthe forward motion of the carriage is continued, it again draws thehousing forward into the position shown in Fig. 5. Upon removal of theshoe already operated upon, the parts are in adjusted position toreceive another similar shoe, and the machine is operated as before.When a shoe of different size or shape is to be inserted, the newadjustments for the same are easily made.

The springs serve to prevent the die from again being lowered until thepedal is again depressed, as will be readily understood.

The means for adjusting the shoe flap in its proper position, for eithera right or a left side shoe, and for holding the shoe in its adjustedposition, are simple and effective, and the machine as a whole may bemade at a lower cost than those heretofore made for a similar use, in sofar as I am aware.

I do not limit myself to the particular details of construction andoperation which have been shown and described, as it is obvious that thesame refer to only one embodiment of my invention, and that the same maybe modified, within the scope of the claim hereof, without departingfrom the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new:

1. A machine for forming heel flap for shoes, comprising means forsupporting a shoe provided with a heel in fixed position and a blankflap portion for covering the breast of said heel, means operative tocut a formed fla from said blank, means for positioning the shoe for thecuttin operation with said heel out of the way of said cutting means,and means for operating said cutting means, comprising a rotatable camdisco-nnected from said cutting means, and operative during a part of acomplete rotation to actuate, said cutting means, means for moving saidcutting means to inoperative position during another vpart of saidrotation, and means for operatin said cam.

2. A machine for forming heel flaps for shoes, comprising means forsupporting a shoe provided with a heel in fixed position and a blankflap portion for covering the breast of said heel, a movable dieoperative to cut a formed flap from said blank, means for positioningthe shoe with said heel out of the path of movement of said die and withsaid flap supported for the forming operation, and

means for operating said die, comprising a rotatable cam disconnectedfrom said die and operative during one part of a complete rotation todepress the same, means for operating said cam, and springs for raisingsaid die.

3. The construction defined in claim, 1, together with means forintermittently rotating said cam.

4. A machine for forming heel flaps for shoes, comprising a carriagemounted for reciprocative movement, means for supporting a shoe providedwith a blank flap portion for covering the breast flap from said blank;said. shoe-supporting means comprising a means adjustably mounted onsaid carriage for receiving the toe of a shoe carried on a last, andmeans for adjustably supporting the last.

5. A machine for forming heel flaps for shoes, comprising a carriage,means for supporting and guiding said carriage, means on said carriagefor supporting a shoe provided with a blank flap portion for coveringthe breast of a heel, and means operative to provide a formed flap fromsaid blank, said carriage being provided with a longitudinal slot andsaid shoe supporting means comprising means for receiving the toe ofashoe, said last mentioned means being movably mounted in said slot, andadjustable means for supporting a last carrying said shoe.

6. A machine for forming heel flaps for shoes, comprising a carriagemounted for reciprocative movement, means for supporting a shoe providedwith a blank flap portion for covering the breast of a heel, and meansoperative to provide a formed flap from said blank: said hoe-supportingmeans comprising a means adjustably mounted with relation to saidcarriage for receiving the toe of a shoe carried on a last, and meansangularly and vertically adjustable with relation to the carriage, forsupporting said last, whereby movement of said carriage with said shoein adjusted position thereon carries said shoe to a predeterminedposition relative to said forming means.

7. A machine for forming heel flaps for shoes, comprising a supportingframe, a housing supporting a platen and slidably mounted with relationto said frame, a carriageslidably mounted with relation to said frameand to said housin means carried by said carriage for supporting a shoeprovided with a blank flap portion for covering the breast of a heel,and means operative to cut a formed flap from said blank.

8. A machine for forming heel flaps for shoes,

comprising a base-plate, a carriage slidably mounted thereon, means forguiding said carriage,

means on said carria e for supporting a shoe' provided with a heelattached thereto and a blank flap portion for covering the breast of aheel, a platen for supporting said blank flap portion, and a singlecutting die operative to cut a formed flap from said blank. LOUIS SABO.

